Free fall machine
A free fall machine is a mechanism designed to permit the development of small biological samples, such as cell cultures, with a simulated effect of micro-gravity under free fall conditions.
Description
The free fall machine addresses some of the problems of the simple horizontal clinostat or random positioning machines (RPM). In a typical machine samples are allowed to cycle between free fall for about a metre down a column and a "bounce" back to the top of the column that is intended to be so fast that it is undetected by the biological sample. The sample therefore experiences an average gravity of near 0 g.Long duration of hyper-gravity is often simulated by machines such as the large diameter centrifuge (LDC) at ESA. To simulate partial-gravity conditions, an RPM can also be used.